No. 2 man flexes NBA's muscle behind scenes

League's insiders know Granik is more than Stern's wingman

Published 6:30 am, Tuesday, February 14, 2006

N EW YORK - Perhaps on Sunday, when the madness of the week has morphed into a basketball game, Russ Granik will allow himself a moment to remember his first All-Star "weekend" with the league. The entire affair consisted of dinner on Saturday and a game on Sunday with none of the parties, concerts and hundreds of thousands of fans who will fill Houston this week.

He might remember the struggles, from the staff of a few dozen to the industry he has helped run from his corner office in Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue. He could consider the hard times — the suspensions of Latrell Sprewell or Ron Artest; the contentious fights with the Players' Association and ugly lockout of 1998.

Or maybe it would be better to think of those days in the backyard, when he played the role of Elgin Baylor — long before they would get together every spring at the draft lottery — and Gary Scherzer was Jerry West, coming much closer to being West than Granik ever could to being Baylor.

More likely however, Granik will go out doing pretty much what he has done the past 30 years, slipping comfortably into his role on the edge of the spotlight, running the NBA for and with David Stern.

Granik's resignation as NBA deputy commissioner will not take effect until after the draft in June, when — Stern has insisted — Granik will run the second round one last time.

By Sunday in Toyota Center, he might not be able to help it. A reminiscence or two, or at least a satisfied moment, would be understandable. But then, had he been driven by the pursuit of personal triumphs, he would not have thrived as a cross between Stern's wingman, muscle, confidante and most of all, partner.

"We've been together longer than the average marriage, and it's been a great one," Stern said. "It always has worked. We in many ways complete each other's sentences. I always have an idea of where he's going to come out on something. We usually come out in the same place at the end."

Stern has been the NBA front man for so long — he joined the league in 1978, two years after Granik, and became commissioner in 1984 — the tendency has been to consider him to be the business. When many refer to the league itself, it is identified by Stern's name.

To those who work, negotiate or even battle with the NBA, however, it's always been "David and Russ."

Knowing his role

"I've always had a realization of what the job is I've had," Granik said. "A large part of it is to try to make the league and the commissioner look as good as possible. If somebody can't come to grips with that, they shouldn't be doing the job that I had. That doesn't mean you run from recognition, but you recognize what the job is.

"If you're going to be effective on a No. 2, you have accept that you're going to be responsible for something but nobody's going to know it. That's got to be OK. I never found that to be a problem."

To those who deal directly with the NBA, Granik has been a driving force for Stern. More than chief operating officer at the headquarters where Stern is chief executive officer, Granik has been the left jab to Stern's right cross.

"He's very formidable," Hunter said. "He a strong advocate for the interests of those he represents: the owners of the NBA. He knows what he's willing to do. He knows what concessions he's will to make. And he's a hardball negotiator but someone of tremendous integrity. We've had some battles, some hard and intense negotiations. But I have a lot of respect for him."

His style — more lawyerly and controlled than the often-emotional Stern — has long been thought to ideally complement Stern. Granik has said Stern's open emotions have been an intentional tool. But Stern might not have had that option if he didn't have Granik on his right.

"When you're in that role he's been in, you have to understand the strength of the guy who is first, and then you have to extend those and complement those," said Rockets president and CEO George Postolos, who was special assistant to Stern for two years with an office in the hall that leads from Stern's office to Granik's. "You don't want to do the same things. You have to figure out what is left to be done when they guy is doing what he is best at. People have egos and egos aside, it's not that easy to figure out, what needs to be done so the vision is accomplished."

Vision and action

In many ways, Stern has been the creative, ambitious leader of the NBA. Granik has led those who made the visions happen.

"What I really admire about him is he plays his role very effectively," Postolos said. "That takes a subtlety, a creativity that's different. I admire that. I think everybody admires that about him. They've done it so well for so long and have been such an effective team. David is a very strong, visionary leader. There has to be an unselfishness, a steadiness of purpose to somebody like Russ."

Leaving makes sense

When Granik announced this would be his last season at the preseason
Board of Governors
meeting, the same meeting in which the league also announced that Stern's contract had been extended for five more years, there was a supposition that Granik had decided there was no longer a point in waiting to succeed Stern as commissioner.

"I realized I was ready to take a break during the collective bargaining sessions, but I knew I would not leave while we had collective bargaining negotiations going on," Granik said. "When those were concluded it seemed to me it made sense. I think, 30 years sort of stuck in my mind. That was a good long tenure. If I was going to try to do something else, this was the time to think about it."

Granik, Stern and Hunter had just completed the CBA negotiations last summer, the television deals are in place and USA Basketball is being led by Jerry Colangelo. Granik will likely be in Japan for the World Championships this summer. But his last All-Star Weekend — "our showcase" he called it — will be this weekend.

"I think it's emblematic of everything that's changed in the league," Granik said. "I take some personal pride in what's happened. The average fan doesn't know who I am and I don't expect too much personal reflection. But I feel proud of a lot of things that have been accomplished. I feel I have had a significant role in some of those things."